2025 Speakers
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KEYNOTE
Jason Evans, Ph.D.
Dean of the College of Food Innovation and Technology (CFIT)
Johnson & Wales University
CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
Ola Afolayan
Director, Global Food Safety and Regulatory
Kellanova
James (Jim) W. Arbogast
Director, Global Food Safety and Regulatory
Kellanova
Larry Ball
Manager, Food Safety Quality Regulatory Affairs
Conagra Brands
Al Baroudi, Ph.D.
VP, QA and Food Safety
The Cheesecake Factory
Mitzi Baum
Former CEO
Stop Foodborne Illness
Sharon Beals
Founder
SKKB-LLC
Sharon Birkett
Vice President, Global Food Safety and Quality Assurance
OSI Group, LLC
Adrienne Blume, M.A.
Editorial Director
Food Safety Magazine
Dr. Philip Bronstein
Senior Vice President Global Food Safety and Quality Assurance
OSI Group
Ben Chapman, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Department Head of Agricultural and Human Sciences
North Carolina State University
Vanessa Coffman, Ph.D.
Director
Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness
Deborah Coviello
Author and Consultant
The Drop In CEO™
Dr. Darin Detwiler, LP.D, M.A.Ed.
Founder/CEO
Detwiler Consulting Group LLC
Eric Ewert
FSQ Zone Lead, Lab and Technical Services Department
Kraft Heinz Company
Tracy Fink
Director, Scientific Programs & Science and Policy Initiatives
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)
Annie Fitzgerald
Research Specialist
UVM
Robin Forgey
AGMM, Food Safety and Quality Assurance
Costco Wholesale
Donna Garren, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President, Science and Policy
American Frozen Food Institute
Oscar Garrison
Director of Quality Assurance and Food Safety
United Egg Producers
Patrick Guzzle
Vice President of Food Science and Industry
National Restaurant Association
Regina Harmon
Executive Director
Food Recovery Network
Scott Hegenbart
Manager, Regulatory Affairs
Conagra Brands
Jorge Hernandez
VP, Quality Assurance
The Wendy's Company
Andrea Hines
Project Manager, Food & Beverage
Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP)
Tim Jackson
Regulatory, Sr. Science Advisor
FDA
Lee-Ann Jaykus, Ph.D.
William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and NoroCORE Scientific Director
North Carolina State University
Matt Jenkins
Manager
McDonald's
Lone Jespersen, Ph.D.
Principal
Cultivate SA
Priya Kadam
Senior Advisor
FDA Human Foods Program/Office of Microbiological Food Safety
Deb Kane, MS
VP, Food Safety, Quality, EHSS and Regulatory
J&J Snack Foods Corp
Gillian Kelleher
CEO
Kelleher Consultants LLC
Monica Khoury
Senior Quality Expert
Nestle
William Lachowsky
Food Safety & Education Consultant
WML Consultants
Mike Learakos
CEO
Abound Food Care
Alvin Lee, Ph.D.
Director of the Center for Processing Innovation
Institute for Food Safety and Health
Charles Leftwich
Vice President, Food Safety and Quality Assurance
Sysco Corporation
Nolan Lewin
Director
Rutgers Food Innovation Center
Glenda Lewis, MSPH
Director, Retail Food Protection Staff
FDA
Michael Lookup
Traceability Lead
Wegmans
Steven Lyon, Ph.D.
Director, Food Safety - Field Operations
Chick-Fil-A Inc.
Steve Mandernach, J.D.
Executive Director
AFDO
Spir Marinakis
VP of Food Safety, Quality and Technical Services
Maple Leaf Foods
Drew McDonald
Senior Vice President Quality & Food Safety
Taylor Fresh Foods
Hinda Mitchell
President and Founder
Inspire PR Group
Melanie Neumann
President, Food Industry Attorney & Consultant
Neumann Advisory Services, LLC.
Brendan Niemira, Ph.D.
Research Leader
USDA
Kathleen O'Donnell
Chief Scientist
Wegmans
Donald Prater, D.V.M.
Acting Director of the Office of Food Policy and Response
FDA
Robert Prevendar
Director, Global Food Safety & Quality Assurance
Yum! Brands
Donna Schaffner
Retired from Rutgers University
Matt Stasiewicz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Applied Food Safety
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Shawn Stevens
Founding Member
Food Safety Counsel
Glenn Stolowski
Director Retail Food Safety
HEB
Peter Taormina, Ph.D.
Founder and President
Etna Consulting Group
Hilary Thesmar
FMI
Christopher Waldrop, M.P.H.
Senior Health Scientist
Office of Surveillance Strategy & Risk Prioritization, Human Foods Program, FDA
Roberta Wagner
Senior Vice President, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs
International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
Nickolas Waters
Senior Director, Food Safety and Quality Assurance
Sysco Corporation
Purni Wickramasinghe, Ph.D.
Food Safety & Restaurant Solutions
Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Michael Wood, Ph.D.
Manager, Food Safety and Quality
Kroger
Lily Yasuda
Program Manager
Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness
Jeremy Zenlea
Director, Head of Health and Safety
EG America
Rosalind Zils
Vice President, Quality
Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition
CERTIFICATE COURSE INSTRUCTORS
Karleigh Bacon
Director, US Food Safety and Quality Systems
McDonald's
Claudia Coles
President
Seafood Products Association (SPA)
Deanna Copeland
Retail Food Safety Director
AFDO
Joetta DeFrancesco
Retail Program Standards Coordinator
NEHA
Roy Fenoff
Associate Professor
The Citadel
Kathy Gombas
Senior Advisor
FSMA Implementation Solutions
Tim Jackson, Ph.D.
Regulatory, Sr. Science Advisor
FDA
Lori Ledenbach
Founder
Ledenbach Food Safety LLC
Sara Mortimore, MSc, FRSPH, MIFST
Founder
Sara Mortimore LLC
Carrie Rigdon, Ph.D.
Research Director
Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO)
Autumn Schuck
Assistant Program Director
Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO)
John Spink, Ph.D.
Director
Michigan State University
Melissa Vaccaro, MS, CP-FS
Senior Food Safety Program Specialist
NEHA
SOLUTIONS STAGE PRESENTERS
Nick Brown
Director of Transportation - Supply Chain Solutions, enVista
Amber Engebretson
Solution Consultant, PLM Trustlink
Ellie Girard
Regional Manager, LUPRIPLATE Lubricants Company
Savanna Holt
Manager - Supply Chain Solutions - Food Traceability Team, enVista
Kyle Jenson
Vice President of Sales & Innovation, Bioionix
Hannes Pouseele
Global Architect for Data and Genomics Solutions, bioMérieux Industry Unit
Brian Wood
Sales Director, PLM Trustlink
TECH TENT PRESENTERS
Chris Earnest
Inside Sales Manager, CEJN North America
Mike Fabian
Manager of CompuClean, Spartan Chemical Company, Inc.
Andreas Lood
Application Engineer & Business Developer, Food Radar
Susanne Moore
CEO, S4i Systems, Inc. dba SMRTR
Joe Scioscia
Executive Vice President, VAI
Amanda Wilder
U.S. Sales Director, Provision Analytics